“La migra.” Without even knowing Spanish, the fear that is laced in between the two words has created an aura of distress. In America, immigration has been brought to the table in recent terms, but when jumping to the past, simple-minded people like the Jimenez family faced distress at all times and lived in constant fear. In the non-fictional novel, “Breaking Through” written by Francisco Jimenez, many illustrations of troubled times for the Jimenez family were portrayed in many aspects.
From the early 1940s through the fast-paced world of 2018, a large part of racism has paved its way into our daily life as a regular thing. Francisco Jimenez, the main character of this story, talked about the many circumstances in which his family tried their best to become as “American as they possibly could be”. The Jimenez family consists of Francisco, Roberto, Mama, Papa, Trampita, Torirto, Ruben, and Rorra. Though all members of the Jimenez family are significant, three out of the family held notable positions.
From the warm tortillas fresh of the pan to the heartful notes in “Cielito Lindo”, Mexican culture holds a special place in Francisco Jimenez’s heart. The innocence of four-year-old Francisco has carried through his life, from living in constant fear to stepping out of his comfort zone, Francisco has tried to fit into the “American style of living”, thus exemplifying indirect characterization. In the introduction of Francisco, his shy, timid self, intertwines with the small sparks of courage, creating the protagonist of this story. Using direct characterization, readers can see the presence of fear and courage when Francisco retells the past fears of crossing the fence, to the present fears of being caught at school by the immigration police.
The exposition of racism is thoroughly mentioned as Francisco is still yet to obtain his first meeting with racism, until he meets Peggy and her parents. “Are you Spanish?” Mrs. Dossen asked politely. “I detect a strong accent.” Not realizing the hints of curiosity, Francisco proudly replied Mexican, but to his dismay, the days to follow were filled with Peggy’s ignorance. Since then, Francisco had entered the world of racism, but as he was still new to this country he led with caution.
When Roberto, Francisco’s older brother, was given a job under the guidance of Mary O’Neil, she took both Roberto and Francisco to a restaurant for the first time. As the Jimenez family, has never been to a restaurant, Francisco and Roberto copied Mary’s movement exactly. “ I am going to have New York steak,” she answered. Francisco quipped immediately ordering the same thing as Mary even though he had no idea what New York steak was. As Francisco’s caution clearly showed through his actions, in time to come, that care slowly waned away.
During the story, Francisco poses a positive outlook on life, but even then tough times occurred. The feeling of inclusion, poverty, and diversity, faced the Jimenez family. One external conflict Francisco encountered in the rising action was Francisco and his family crossing the U.S. border illegally. This caused Francisco’s family to work in the fields for a prolonged amount of time. Because Papa has a bad back and Roberto is busy working his jobs, Francisco works extensive hours in the field to support his family. This cause Francisco to miss portions of school, which makes the trail to get to college, harder to accomplish.
In the story, Francisco states, “ We had lost our three acres of strawberries… but I was relieved that we did not have to work late evening or miss school days anymore.” This shows how meaningful school was to Francisco and that farming took up time away from school. Apart from working long days in the fields, Francisco wanted to go to college and become a teacher, which proved to be a major internal and external conflict. Not only was his education declining due to the number of school days he missed, but because Francisco was Mexican the opportunities of receiving scholarships were also significantly lower.
In the text, Francisco conveys the sense of confusion and sadness when Mr. Kinkade, the school counselor, tells Francisco that becoming a teacher is expensive. Francisco ponders, “ Maybe that’s what Papa meant when he said only rich people become teachers.” This piece of text significantly shows that the number of hardships and past experiences Papa faced in the past and present drove him to tell Francisco that rich people only become teachers, this causes Francisco’s dreams to fall.
Nonetheless, the number of deprivations Francisco has faced, has in a way, fueled him to pursue his dreams. Jumping over the obstacles in his way, Francisco is using his negatives and fueling them into a positive. In the first conflict, he confronted, was the long hours he worked in the fields. Unfortunately, through the high power of his father and the way he was raised, Francisco was never actually able to break his way away from farming, instead, he added more to his plate by working for Mike Nevel, and cleaning out people’s offices. Francisco worked around his schedule and started adding more school activities to his daily routine, like becoming head of the Spanish club, joining the Rotary club, and taking part in the student government. By making his life extremely busy, Francisco opened new doors to grants, loans and scholarships to colleges.
Even though Francisco had many sleepless nights, his determination to go to college broke through all other “minor” afflictions. As stated above, Francisco opened up many opportunities to save money when going to college. In the text, Francisco states, “ I leafed through the pile of applications… Lions Club Scholarships, etc.” Even though Papa told Francisco that becoming a teacher is only for rich people, Francisco endured through his harsh words. To Francisco this is a big accomplishment because growing up Francisco had a very tough relationship with his father, only wanting to help him, but making him unhappy throughout the way. Supporting his goals through hard work, Francisco excitedly states, “I got one thousand dollars from the school!” Through endearment and fuel, Francisco managed to achieve the things he desired and most importantly realizes all the effort put into it.
Through the roller-coaster of emotions and hardships, the livelihood and determination of Francisco Jimenez, powered him to reach the ultimate goal, to make Mama and Papa happy and provide for the whole family, while achieving his dreams as well. From the hard work on the fields to the slow, dances at the Vets, Francisco was backed up by a strong support team, his family, in which they broke through the barriers of stereotypes and bandwagons.
Even though racism affected so many of us today, looking at how Francisco carried his life and spirit can teach readers a lesson that through the end of a dark tunnel there is always a light. Reflecting back on all the tough times, driving on the way to Santa Clara University, Francisco’s merry mood can reflect the path he has paved for a better future himself by overcoming barriers such as language, academic challenges, and cultural distinction. Use present tense in literary analysis. Sometimes your effort to drop in literary terms confuses the reader or is out of place and awkward. Some paragraphs have too many ideas. Try and focus on 2-3 main conflicts. Overall good job and excellent conclusion.
